


The Problem with Probation

by starryeyedbandit



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Romance, cherry magic - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:42:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28392579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedbandit/pseuds/starryeyedbandit
Summary: When Draco Malfoy returns to Hogwarts for his Eighth year, he’s determined to keep his head down and carry out the terms of his probation requirement as quietly as possible. That means zero interactions with a certain irritating raven-haired world saver. But while cleaning out the old room of requirements, he knocks over an unknown potion that promptly knocks him out. When he awakens, he finds he’s able to read the passing thoughts of anyone he makes physical contact with. And suddenly he finds that world saver a lot less irritating and a lot more intriguing.Inspired by the amazing Cherry Magic series!
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 14
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

Draco slowly did up his tie, purposely taking his time.

The train had arrived at Hogwarts 15 minutes ago, and most of the students had dutifully filed off. Maybe if he took long enough the train would return to London. After all, it had nearly taken Potter back 2 years ago. He couldn't help but smirk at the memory of Potter's panicked eyes as Draco had hit him with the stunning spell. 

Pansy let out a loud, frustrated sigh next to him, reminding him of her presence.

Ah yes.

His self-assigned baby-sitter would make sure the train wasn’t going anywhere.

He ignored her, slowly pulling on his robes and beginning to button them up 

“Why are you stalling Draco? You’ll have to get off this train and face the music eventually.” She said, keeping her tone even.

Post-war life had been good for Pansy. She was much nicer now, her hard edge had softened considerably after the Dark Lord fell. She had even been pleasant to the to Mud… Muggle-borns she met during the summer.

“ _Can’t slip up_ ” he reminded himself. Part of his probation. No hate speech allowed.

Eventually his robes were on and he no longer had an excuse to linger on the train.

He grabbed his luggage and gave Pansy a tight smile.

“Sorry Pans. I’m ready now.”

She returned his smile with a genuine one. She really was much nicer now.

They left the train and made their way to the waiting carriages.

~~~

“Welcome back to Hogwarts!” McGonagall announced, smiling proudly at the row of students in front of her.

The students broke out into applause and cheered. Draco dutifully clapped his hands together, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

“As many of you know, we were very determined to open Hogwarts doors as soon as we could. Thank you to all who volunteered their time this past summer to help rebuild the school. We would not have been able to achieve this without you.”

Draco tried not to frown. Another part of his probation. Helping repair the damage he had helped cause by aligning with the Dark Lord. He had spent all summer patching up destroyed brick, re-organizing classrooms, and his personal favourite, re-building the quidditch pitch.

He worked alongside Pansy, Blaise, Nott and Goyle mainly. The group didn’t have to serve probation but knew that helping re-build the school would make them look good to the rest of the wizarding world. All volunteers were required to work to in pairs so they were occasionally forced to take turns working with someone else.

Luna Lovegood of all people often appeared at their side whenever they needed a partner. She was the only person who didn’t mind partnering with the Slytherin eighth years. She and Pansy had grown extremely close over the summer and Draco was incredibly grateful for her cheerful, if not not odd, presence.

Draco glanced at the Ravenclaw table now and saw her already looking at him, smiling. She waved frantically at him and Draco couldn’t help the half smile that crossed his face. He waved back and her grin grew even bigger. The Ravenclaws next to her shifted uncomfortably as they eyed the exchange.

He turned back to the front, ignoring their judgment and listened to McGonagall who had suddenly gotten a reaction out of the students.

“...As I said, this year is unique in many ways. We have our returning Eighth Year students. These returning students are adults, and as such, and will be sharing a common room together. I do hope you all find your accommodations comfortable.” she said, a small frown appearing as the students all broke out into whispers.

Draco blinked and exchanged glances with his friends. Great. There were barely any returning Slytherins so he had been hoping for a private room this year.

“I hope we’re all sharing” Goyle whispered, looking worried.

“They’re idiots if they don’t pair the four of us together. Sorry Pans, you’ll probably have to room with some Gryfinndor.” Nott whispered back, shooting Pansy a smirk.

Draco couldn’t help but worry about his oldest friend as he caught the grim expression on her face at Nott’s words.

“It’s okay Pans. You tell me if anyone bothers you. I’ll kill them and go to Azkaban again, I don’t mind. My cell wasn’t that bad. It might be nice to see the old gang.” Draco lied.

The boys broke out into snickers and Pansy smiled indulgently.

He had spent 30 days in Azkaban following the fall of the Dark Lord. There weren’t any dementors but it was still the longest month of his life, which was saying something considering the months he had spent with the Dark Lord in his house. Draco cringed, remembering how the only thing that had stopped him from an extended prison sentence was Harry bloody Potter.

The only thing that had gotten him out was Potter’s testimony on how Draco had not identified him to the Dark Lord. Lucius had been sentenced to 2 years in Azkaban followed by a 5 year house arrest sentence which he had gratefully accepted.

Draco pushed all thoughts of his father and Azkaban aside as he reached over and grabbed Pansy’s hand feeling her squeeze his in return.

~~~

Draco and his friends were loose and in good spirits as they made their way to their new common room, which was tucked away in the Astronomy tower.

“There’s such a great view from this part of the tower. Luna and I had to help furnish some of the rooms. You'll love it.” remarked Pansy.

“You mean it's better than that old dungeon they used to keep us in? Impossible.” Blaise scoffed. He looked especially handsome tonight. He had taken off his robes, and had the three top bottons of his shirt open leaving his chest exposed, his dark skin shinning through.

Draco prickled at his words. Slytherin’s common rooms may have been a dungeon but it was still his home away from home for six years.

Blaise didn’t let the lukewarm reaction to his barb ruin his good mood. Draco suspected he might have added some unknown liquor into his drinks during the feast.

“Selfish prat.”Draco grumbled as Blaise fixed him with a dazzling smile and reached over to wrap his arm around Draco’s shoulder.

The contact was welcome and Draco immediately relaxed, relishing in the feel of another human pressed against him.

Both during the war and in Azkaban, the isolation he felt was by far his lowest points.

He wrapped his own arm around Blaise’s waist, giving his old friend a friendly squeeze and letting the scent of Blaise's expensive cologne wash over him.

The group had an unspoken policy regarding physical affection. It was no secret they were all touch starved, and so anyone who initiated physical affection was never turned down.

When Luna took her lunch breaks with the group, she also joined in. She never hesitated in locking her arm with Goyle’s or resting her legs on Nott’s lap during lunch breaks.

“Aww how sweet! Malfoy’s found a boyfriend during the summer!” came a mocking voice behind the group.

The group of Slytherin’s didn’t even bother to respond to Weasley’s taunt.

They knew that any retaliation would result in Draco locked up in a cell before the end of the night.

Blaise however, couldn’t help but leaning over to press a loud, wet kiss to Draco’s cheek. He dropped his arm to cup Draco’s arse and gave him a firm squeeze.

“Can’t wait to get to our rooms tonight babe.” he stage-whispered seductively into Draco’s ears making sure he spoke loud enough for Weasley to hear.

Pansy let a squeal at the display, jokingly covering her eyes from the display.

Nott chortled, rolling his eyes and Goyle roared in laughter as Draco’s cheeks flushed at Blaise’s sudden grope.

He could practically feel the stares burning into him from behind but he ignored it.

They continued to ignore the Gryffindors behind them until the entire group finally approached the new common room. Blocking the entrance was the portrait of knight who sat eagerly anticipating the group to approach him.

“Oh not you!” cried out Weasley.

Draco’s eyes flew to Weasley who looked down right horrified at the sight of the portrait. Interesting.

Standing next to Weasley stood Harry Potter, who looked both incredibly handsome and incredibly unhappy.

He had grown out his hair over the summer, his wild locks now resting against his neck. He had also abandoned his robe like Blaise, and had rolled up his shirt sleeves exposing his now muscular forearms. He had gotten fit over the summer, gaining back the weight he had lost during the war and then some. Draco was also fairly certain that Potter was now at least an inch or two taller than him. Perfect.

However, Potter's eyes weren’t on the little knight in the portrait, but on Blaise’s hands which were still firmly cupping Draco’s arse.

His eyes slid slowly from Draco’s arse to his face. Draco refused to show any expression on his face. He held Potter's gaze defiantly for a few seconds before turning away.

“Sir Cadogan.” Began Granger, unaware of the silent exchange happening next to her. She stepped forward and stood next to Pansy.

“You see, these are our new lodgings but we haven’t gotten the password yet. Would it be possible to alert someone inside and let them know we’re all here?”

“My apologies fair lady! But the rules are quite simple! No password, no entrance! Surely you would not suggest I betray my post?” The portly knight said accusingly, brandishing his sword at Granger .

“Of course not. It never is that easy with you, is it?” Granger replied grimly.

“This is stupid.” Pansy muttered as she leaned forward and banged directly on the portrait causing the Knight to leap away from her fist.

The door swung open and Neville Longbottom regarded the odd group in front of him.

Pansy ignored the outrage from Sir Cadogan and stepped past Longbottom and into the new common room. The remainder of the group followed her.

The common room was undoubtedly smaller than Slytherin.

Instead of appearing cramped however, it gave off an air of warmth and cozyness. Draco instantly liked the new space with its lush purple drapes and plush white carpet.

The fire place had several couches and loveseats surrounding it. A long table sat off to the side, facing a window that gave an extraordinary view of the grounds and the very edge of the forbidden forest.

Inside the common room, other students were scattered examining their new living space.

Nott and Goyle immediately took off towards the couches in front of the fire space, eager to unwind.

Draco, Blaise and Pansy all took a seat at the table tucked away.

Draco regarded the night view, enjoying the sight of all the twinkling stars. Looking up at the night sky always filled him with a sense of peace and calm. His mum was somewhere in the English countryside underneath this same sky.

His star-gazing was interrupted as Pansy elbowed him gently in the ribs. He looked up at her puzzled, and she jerked her head towards Potter and Longbottom who were apparently catching up.

“You’ve really gotten bigger Neville.” Potter remarked, clasping Longbottom on the shoulder.

“Thanks mate, so have you! All that heavy lifting this summer re-building the castle helped me out. You were a ghost this summer though, where were you hiding?”

Draco discreetly leaned in closer, eager to hear Potter’s answer.

The vast majority of the Hogwarts student population had helped in the re-build of both Hogwarts and the Ministry.

But the Golden Trio hadn’t shown their face once the entire summer. Rumour had it that they had gone on a vacation to Australia, following the traumatic events of the war.

“Sorry mate. I wish I could have helped out. You all did a great job, the school looks phenomenal.” Harry replied, looking around the common room and giving nothing away.

His eyes fell on Draco’s again and Draco willed himself not to look away.

He felt an uncomfortable squeeze in his gut as Potter’s emerald eyes seemingly darkened. But he eventually turned away to focus on Longbottom, who was pulling Potter towards the other side of the room.

Draco turned back towards the night sky.

~~

Draco, Nott, Goyle and Blaise eventually made their way up to the boys dormitories floating their trunks alongside them.

They stopped at the corridor that held all the rooms. There were 5 rooms on either side, and each room held 3 boys each.

Draco held his breath as he began reading the names of the boys on each of the doors. He got to the very last door when he finally found his own name.

_Blaise Zabini_

_Dean Thomas_

_Draco Malfoy_

_Harry Potter_

Draco let out a long, frustrated sigh. At least he had an ally in Blaise.


	2. Chapter Two

A week had passed without any incident between the Slytherins and Gryffindor’s in their shared room.

There was a stalemate of sorts, and neither Thomas nor Potter acknowledged Blaise or Draco directly.

But that didn’t stop Potter from staring at Draco.

_Merlin._

The staring.

Potter’s emerald eyes were seemingly always fixed on Draco whenever the two were in the same room. Draco never knew how to react to that emotionless gaze. He even tried glaring at Potter once, but that hadn’t done anything at all. If anything, he swore he saw the corner of Potter’s mouth twitch into a ghost of a smile.

Draco could practically feel the disdain rolling off Potter in waves whenever Draco stepped into the same room as the prat. He just decided to ignore Potter and maybe ( _hopefully)_ he would get bored and find some other poor sod to stare at.

Pansy had noticed and became convinced that Potter was plotting on getting Draco kicked out of school.

It had taken Draco nearly an hour of holding Pansy and rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back before she finally stopped trembling and relaxed. Of course, right when she had calmed down Potter had walked in and his eyes had immediately snapped to where the two sat.He regarded the way Pansy was curled around Draco, her head resting on his shoulder and Draco’s hand still running slowly up and down her back. Draco felt a flash of anger at the judgmental stare and the anger in Draco’s eyes finally led to the prat having the decency to appear sheepish and looking away.

The following morning, the group of Slytherins sat in the Great Hall for breakfast, enjoying the delicious breakfast prepared by the house elves. Pansy was still a bit skittish, but Draco stayed close to her keeping his arm wrapped firmly around her waist.

Aside from the debacle last night, Draco was in a great mood. Their new potions professor had gone out of her way to praise Draco’s work in class. The new professor was an older witch who had just retired from her former career as a Potions Master at her own apothecary.

Draco recalled their previous conversation with a soft smile.

“ _Only reason I’m here is because I couldn’t keep up with the all the orders at my old age! My apprentice handles the shop now, but she’s planning on leaving soon to start her own shop in America. Keep up the great work Draco, I just may take you on as my next apprentice! Need someone to help me run the shop and you really have a_ _talent_ _with potions.”_

Professor Nightingale was perhaps the only teacher at Hogwarts who ignored the Death Eater mark on his forearm. He knew she was muggle-born and had every reason to hate him but she just…. Didn’t. He didn’t complain. His career after Hogwarts was one of his biggest concerns now, and he always loved Potions. Now that his father wasn’t around to bully him into a career at the Ministry Draco suddenly found himself free to choose his own future.

~~

That night Draco finally reported to his first probation task.

The Wizengamot had decided that his one year probation would simply take form in continuing his work from the summer. All he had to do was continue to repair the school and his biggest project was the room of requirements.

He winced. This one may or may not have been his fault.

He stood outside the room and took a deep breath before walking back and forth in front of where it used to stand.

After 10 minutes of pacing continuously before the door, Draco couldn’t bare to look to see if the door had appeared. He felt a horrible knot in his stomach. One of the most magical rooms in all of Hogwarts and he may have permanently destroyed it.

“Are you going to go in there or just keep pacing forever?” Came an amused voice behind him.

Draco jumped and relaxed.

“Luna. You scared me!”

“Sorry. I was on a stroll and noticed you here. The room’s been in front of you for about 5 minutes but you just kept on pacing. Thought I should say something.” She said, pointing at the door.

She was right. The door had appeared, as looming and large as ever. There were no signs of a burning inferno anywhere, but that didn’t mean anything.

“I’m frightened Luna. Of what I’ll find in there.” He admitted, his voice small.

“Then we’ll go in together.” Luna replied, smiling.

She walked over to stand next to Draco and took his hand.

With a gulp, Draco steeled himself and faced the door.

With a deep breath, he pushed it opened and found….. Chaos.

No, that wasn’t true. It was the room of hidden things, but there was ash where there was once piles of books, desks, furniture, and all sorts of random wonderful objects. The fiendfyre had decimated the entire room, and there were now piles of ash. It would take forever to dig through all this stuff and find anything salvageable. His stomach sank as he walked further into the room, letting go of Luna and poking his foot into a nearby pile of ash. It toppled over, sending black dust billowing into the air.

“I’m supposed to clean this place up.” he said to Luna dumbly.

“Looks like that’s long overdue!” She replied with a wrinkled nose, knocking over a pile of ash herself and waving her hand in front of her nose as the dust washed over her.

She was right about that. The Wizengamot had specifically told Draco to clean out the room of requirement, but how on earth was he supposed to get all this ash out of here?

He sighed and offered Luna a wry smile. “You should go. Thanks for coming in here with me.”

“Oh, are you sure Draco? I don’t mind staying here with you. I can help! We should ask the house elves how they would clean out a room like this.” She insisted, hands on her hips as she examined the room.

Draco let out a chortle watching her. She looked adorable, her blonde hair in braided pigtails with flowers interwoven.

That was a great idea. The house elves wouldn't be happy to see him, but he had Harry Potter’s very own friend with him.

“Good idea. Let’s see what they say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well chapter two is out! Thank you to everyone who commented, left kudos and added this fic as a bookmark. I hope you're enjoying this fic so far, short as it may be! I am hoping for this to be around 10-12 chapters.


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